My cat is 15 years old and she has just been diagnosed with renal failure. The vet said that usually by the time it shows up on tests, the kidneys are 2/3 to 3/4 failed. This was about a month or so ago. We have her on a diet now that is specifically for feline renal failure as well as a vitamin powder and a phosphorus binder - all of which she is consuming with no problem. She does go outdoors but mostly is indoors. When she is outdoors, we are out there with her and she does not wander. She eats grass outside, which I understand is quite normal. I am wondering if anyone knows if she is allowed to have 'oat' grass. I have a message in to the vet but she is not back to the clinic until early next week and I am just looking for information while we wait, though I will wait for the vet's reply before I actually give my cat the grass. Thank you to anyone who may have some input. It will be much appreciated :)

sugarcatmom

March 30th, 2013 08:45 PM

Totally fine for her to eat grass.

That prescription renal diet though, leaves a lot to be desired. There are much healthier options with way better ingredients (that won't cause muscle wasting like the low protein ones do), although most vets don't endorse them (probably cause they aren't making money off them). Do you know what her lab results (blood and urinalysis) are?

umashisha

March 31st, 2013 05:02 PM

So, the oat grass is okay (as opposed to the outside grass)?

I was wondering about her having less protein...I'd like to look into that. Any tips on where to research "other options"?

Yes, I have her test results. Biochemistry: Urea is increased at 15.4 as is her creatinine at 319. Anion gap is 26.6. Haematology: White cell count 4.0 (decreased with normal 4.2-15.6) - she has always had low white cell count... Her hematocrit is 0.46. Decreased neutrophils and lymphocytes.

Obviously there is much more on the results that I don't understand but these are the values which are out of normal range.

P.S. Thank you so much for your reply...

RUSTYcat

April 1st, 2013 12:05 PM

[QUOTE=umashisha;1055869]So, the oat grass is okay (as opposed to the outside grass)?[/QUOTE]Have a look [url=http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/sweetwatergems/cats/catgrass.html][b][COLOR="Blue"]here[/COLOR][/b][/url]

When it comes to eating grass I kind of side with SCM allowing the cat to eat grass. With that being said you don't want to do anything that's going to upset the stomach, or upset the stomach acidity especially with your cat suffering from renal disease. I'm enclosing a few websites that might be of interest to you to have look at. The first one is just an article on cat grass that is interesting reading. The following 2 deal with renal failure, foods and alternative medicines.

[url]http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1823/[/url]

[url]http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm[/url]

[url]http://www.holisticat.com/[/url]

I hope these websites will shed some light on your problem, and hopefully some of the other members who have more experience in this than I have will add their comments too.

Regards the low protein, some of the vets are having 2nd thoughts on it. The vet that I am using for Jet's Renal Failure, handed me a can of prescription diet food and stated that she was not happy with the protein level in it, and suggested that I add some cooked chicken to it to increase the protein level.

pattymac

April 7th, 2013 05:25 PM

after looking at those pics of the cat grass, I got myself a big foil lasagna pan and filled it with dirt and cat grass seeds!! Right now it's hidden in the back porch to germinate. I figure if I let Coco know before it's ready, he'd be beside himself wanting it. He gets excited enough about the small pans I've done! I promise to get pics of them enjoying themselves!